Opening Day baseball regarding Union County teams Saturday, March 31 includes seven games scheduled.
Here’s a closer look:
UNION COUNTY
OPENING DAY BASEBALL – Saturday, March 31
REVISED SCHEDULE AS OF MARCH 30:
New Brunswick at New Providence, 11 a.m.
Gov. Livingston at Elizabeth, 11 a.m.
Johnson at Ocean Township, 11 a.m.
Roselle Catholic at Marist, 11 a.m.
Plainfield at Union Catholic, 11:30 a.m.
Middlesex at Union, 11:30 a.m.
Cranford at Scotch Plains, 1 p.m.
New Providence was 9-17 last year, but did qualify for the Central Jersey, Group 2 playoffs.
Governor Livingston is the defending CJ, G2 champion and last year the Highlanders also won the Union County Conference’s Watchung Division championship outright for the first time en route to a 26-4 record. GL was 15-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state for the first time last year before it lost at home to Johnson in the Union County Tournament quarterfinals. Key players back this season include senior first baseman-pitcher DJ Gonnelli, senior shortstop Danny Serretti, junior third baseman Drew Compton and senior outfielders Tyler McCulloch, Jack Pedini and Will Jennings. Also back is last year’s Union County Conference Player of the Year, junior outfielder Stephen Reid.
Elizabeth is coming off a 15-13 season that saw the Minutemen win one UCT and one North 2, Group 4 contest.
Johnson went 11-14 last year, but reached the UCT semifinals after winning at top-seeded and undefeated GL 9-5 in the quarterfinals. The Crusaders are led by senior Joe Turek, who is catching this season. He batted .433 last year.
Roselle Catholic won twice in a three-game stretch last year after a very young and inexperienced team began 0-10.
Plainfield went 9-14 overall last year and captured the UCC’s Sky Division title with a perfect 6-0 league mark.
Union Catholic fashioned a winning 16-9-1 campaign a year ago and returns junior right hander Brendan Welsh, who was a First Team All-UCC Mountain Division selection in 2017.
Union went 12-14 last year and has a solid pitching staff that includes juniors Zach Fernandes and Brian Bedlivy and sophomore Andrew Sanborn. Also back is senior catcher Jerry Gamone, who will continue playing next year at Division 3 Caldwell College.
Cranford came oh so close to winning the Group 3 state championship last year before falling 5-1 in eight innings to Allentown at Toms River South. The Cougars are sparked by senior right hander Gordon Graceffo and junior outfielder James Shriner. Graceffo, one of Union County’s top pitchers, will continue playing in college at Villanova. The Cougars went 21-8 last year, reaching the UCT final (it was the first time Cranford lost in the final since 1998) and capturing N2, G3 for the second straight season and for the sixth time this decade.
Scotch Plains put together another solid season last year, finishing 17-10 and reaching the UCT semifinals where the Raiders lost at Cranford 3-2 in eight innings. Scotch Plains also went 1-1 in the North 2, Group 4 playoffs, winning at Union and then falling at Millburn.
COACHING MILESTONES ON HORIZON
Cranford head coach Dennis McCaffery, now in his 20th season at the helm of the Cougars, is 3 wins shy of 400. He begins the 2018 campaign with a 19-season (1999-2017) record of 397-121 (.766).
GL head coach Chris Roof, now in his 15th season at the helm of the Highlanders, is 7 wins shy of winning 300 games at GL and 3 short of winning 350 overall. His 300th victory came in GL’s 2015 Group 2 state championship victory over Bernards at Toms River South.
Roof’s 3-season record at Millburn from 2001-2003 was 54-34 (.614).
His 14-season record at GL (2004-2017) is 293-116 (.716).
Roof’s overall record going into the 2018 season is 347-150 (.698).
The post Union County Opening Day baseball on Saturday, March 31 includes a 7-game schedule; Defending sectional champions GL and Cranford begin on the road appeared first on Union News Daily.